A Reform UK councillor has told cyclists to “take their own responsibility” for their safety on the roads, as a campaign was launched in Lincolnshire, featuring support from Halfords and the local police, urging people on bikes to wear hi-vis clothing and use front and rear lights.
The ‘Don’t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist’ campaign was launched in Spalding, South Holland this week by Mark Le Sage, the founder of the Rightside Trust and Ella’s Project, a community group which collect and distributes children’s clothing in the area.
The campaign, which runs between 21 January and 21 February, aims to “raise awareness about keeping cyclists safe on our roads” by emphasising that “visibility can save lives”.
‘Don’t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist’ lights campaign, Spalding (credit: Rightside Trust and Ella’s Project)
In a social media post, the group encouraged local cyclists to “use bike lights – front and rear” and “wear high-visibility or reflecting clothing”.
“Whether you’re commuting, training, or cycling for fun, making yourself visible helps drivers see you sooner and react faster,” the group said. “Let’s work together to keep every cyclist safe.”
The group is collaborating with Lincolnshire Police and Halfords during the month-long ‘Don’t Be Dim’ campaign, with Halfords offering 15 per cent off all lights in its Spalding branch until 21 February.
Discussing the campaign at a meeting of Spalding Town Forum, Le Sage – a local independent councillor – said that the drive to improve the visibility of cyclists on the roads was sparked by a collision between a motorist and a woman riding a bike in “dark clothing”, the Spalding Voice reports.
“It all started after I promised a local resident, Jackie Stanberry, that I would do something after her she and her vehicle were involved in an incident with a female cyclist wearing dark clothing as well as not having lights on her bike,” he said.
“Last week in a two-hour period I counted 27 cyclists without any lights at all and only five of those were wearing hi-vis jackets.
“I’m very grateful for the support and encouragement I’ve had from the Deputy Chief Constable Chris Davison and local Inspector Matt Dickinson.
“I must also say a big thank you to Spalding Halfords’ deputy manager Leanne Boswell who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get the special discount arranged, and local cycling group Pedals are also very pleased to hear we are doing our bit to help make South Holland’s roads that bit safer, and are fully supportive of the project.”
Mark Le Sage promoting ‘Don’t Be Dim, Be A Bright Cyclist’ campaign and Halfords offer (credit: Rightside Trust and Ella’s Project)
In January 2024, Le Sage was injured in a road traffic collision after his car was struck by Casualty and Holby City actress Amanda Mealing, who pleaded guilty last year to driving while under the influence of cocaine and was banned from driving for 22 months.
Meanwhile, South Holland Neighbourhood Policing inspector Matt Dickinson also told the meeting: “It’s not a new issue, it’s been around for years. I got told off for having no lights on my bike when I was young.
“The boundaries have changed and we maybe struggle to enforce this as we’d like. All these offences, while they could have a significant impact in a collision, in the eyes of the law they’re minor in terms of if we prosecute what the outcome could be.”
Le Sage then asked Dickinson about the police’s capacity to deal with the number of people riding bikes “illegally” in Spalding, to which the officer replied: “I regularly see what you see, but I haven’t got the capacity or resources to those times every day and I’d be lying to you if I say I could.
“I like to look a bit wider. We have the town centre hot spot patrols, but we’re looking to negotiate with them and continue funding and ask that to be part of the patrols.
“The whole point of that funding is that they concentrate on what the community want them to. We could task them that. It wouldn’t be too difficult to ask them to enforce it as the same time as they’re out and about.”
Le Sage’s fellow independent councillor, Aaron Spencer, also called for better education for young people when it comes to safe cycling, arguing that the town forum itself should aim to fund protective equipment which could be handed out in local schools.
Reform UK councillor Ingrid Sheard agreed that the responsibility for ensuring cyclists wear lights and ride safely is “not just down to police”.
“It’s also down to parents to ensure their kids have lights on their bikes and everybody to take responsibility,” she said, before describing an encounter with a young cyclist she had told to “get off” his bike in Spalding town centre.
“I’ve been in town and when a young person has cycled past me I’ve said, ‘please get off your bike’,” she said.
“They biked away, came back and gave me a mouthful. I had a conversation with them. I asked them why they felt the need to ride through and they said, ‘because everyone else does it’. So I said, ‘why does that make it right?’
“I think that’s the opportunity I need to spin. Also, people need to take their own responsibility.”
Lights campaigns like the one in Spalding, despite their stated aim to improve safety for people on bikes, have often attracted criticism from road safety campaigners, who feel they “feed into a victim-blaming culture” which places the onus for safety onto the most vulnerable road users.
For example, the ‘Be Bright Wear a Light’ campaign, launched in 2023 by pro rider Rachel Neylan and endorsed by four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar and former world champion Elisa Balsamo, was described by Dr Robert Davis, the chair of the chair of the Road Danger Reduction Forum, as “well-intentioned” but lacking awareness of “what’s required to not being hit by drivers”.
In any case, it’s unclear to what extent Sheard’s party leader Nigel Farage would back Spalding’s bike light campaign. Earlier this month, however, the Reform chief did brand the Labour government’s plans to lower the drink drive limit in England and Wales as “absolutely ridiculous and wholly unnecessary”.
He then claimed the proposals were the work of the “Islington, north London bicycling classes” who “hate” rural Britain, and that the UK’s roads are now “incredibly safe”.
“This is because we’ve got laws being designed by the Islington, north London bicycling classes. What about rural Britain? No-one cares, of course. In fact, many in Labour seem to hate rural Britain,” Farage told a press conference.
“But the drink drive thing is absolutely ridiculous, wholly unnecessary. We’ve been where we’ve been since 1967, it’s worked pretty effectively. If you actually look at road casualty figures, through whatever cause, we are now incredibly safe on our roads. Incredibly safe. Much safer than France, way safer than Germany.
“We’ve actually reached a level on accidents, beneath which it is impossible to go, because there will always be human error of some kind.”